In some ways, learning to programme a computer is similar to learning a new language. It requires learning new symbols and terms, which must be organized correctly to instruct the computer what to do. The computer code must also be clear enough that other programmers can read and understand it.

In spite of those similarities, MIT neuroscientists (神经科学家) have found that reading computer code doesn’t activate the regions of the brain that are involved in language processing. Instead, it activates a distributed network called the multiple demand network, which is also related to complex tasks such as solving maths problems or crossword puzzles.

Although reading computer code activates the multiple demand network, it appears to rely more on different parts of the network than maths or logic problems do. “Understanding computer code seems to be its own thing. It isn’t the same as language, and it isn’t the same as maths and logic,” says Anna Ivanova, an MIT graduate student and the lead author of the study.

Evelina Fedorenko is the senior author of the paper, which appears today in eLife. A major focus of her research is the relationship between language and other cognitive (认知) functions. In particular，she has been studying the question of whether other functions rely on the brain’s language network, which includes Broca’s area and other regions in the left hemisphere (半球) of the brain. In previous work, her lab has shown that music and maths don’t appear to activate this language network.

There are two schools of thought regarding how the brain learns to code, she says. One holds that in order to be good at programming，you must be good at maths. The other suggests that because of the parallels between coding and language, language skills might be more relevant. To clarify this issue, the researchers set out to study whether brain activity patterns while reading computer code would overlap (重叠) with language-related brain activity.

Roaming the moon

The moon may shine white above us most nights of the year，but how much do we know about Earth’s neighbor and what lies beneath its surface? Scientists are aiming to find out.

On Jan 3. 2019. China’s Chang’e 4 spacecraft landed on the far side of the moon—a first for humanity. It released a small probe(探测器)，Yutu2，or Jade Rabbit 2，which began to search beneath the moon’s surface using Lunar Penetrating Radar(探测雷达). These radio signals can reach 40 meters underground，three times the depth of the Chang’e 3 lunar probe launched in 2013 for the near side of the moon，China Daily reported.

In a study published in the journal Science Advances，researchers found that the lunar soil’s top layer on the far side of the moon was much thicker than expected—about 40 meters. Other scientists only expected about 6 millimeters of soil based on NASA observations during the Apollo moon landings，according to The New York Times.

“It’s a fine，dusty，sandy environment，”said one of the authors of the study，Elena Pettinelli，a physics and mathematics professor at Rome Tre University，Rome.

Yutu 2 is specifically exploring the Von Karman crater，a large hole that is 180 kilometers wide and also the landing site of Chang’e 4. It’s part of an even larger，older crater spanning more than 1，770 kilometers.

“The subsurface at the Chang’e 4 landing site is very complex，”said Li Chunlai，a research professor and deputy director-general of National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of science. “Observations suggest that the surface material is totally different than the previous landing site of Chang’e 3. ”she said.

Radar waves revealed various layers beneath the moon’s surface：Grainy(颗粒状的)material，rocks，and further layers of fine and rough particles. This information is helping scientists to gain new understanding of the moon’s history and formation，as well as volcanic activity and lunar impacts.

Yutu 2 is the longest-working rover(巡视器)on the moon，but it won’t last forever. China plans to launch the Chang’e 5 probe later this year，Xinhua News Agency reported. The spacecraft is expected to bring pieces of the moon back to Earth for closer study.